Bolivian ex-president Morales leaves Argentina on flight to Venezuela

BUENOS AIRES

: Bolivia's

former president Evo Morales

left Argentina for

Caracas

late Friday in an official Venezuelan aircraft, the official Argentine news agency Telam said.


Morales, who has been in exile in Buenos Aires since December, flew out of Ezeiza international airport at 5:15 pm (2015 GMT) bound for the

Venezuelan capital

, Telam said.

Local media said the leader of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) was due to return to the Argentine capital on Sunday.

Morales on Monday signaled his intention to return to Bolivia after his

leftist heir Luis Arce

's sweeping presidential election victory last weekend.

Bolivia's electoral commission on Friday confirmed Arce's victory, returning the MAS to power just under a year after Morales resigned and fled Bolivia following weeks of protests over his controversial reelection.

Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, served for almost 14 years but last year stood for -- and initially won -- an unconstitutional fourth consecutive term. Bolivia's constitution limits a president to two successive terms.